Now Reading: SC says consumer forums not rehabilitation centres for retired
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SC says consumer forums not rehabilitation centres for retired
The Supreme Court on Thursday said consumer dispute redressal commissions cannot serve as rehabilitation centres for retired judges and bureaucrats. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant flagged poor disposal rates…
The Story in Brief
The Supreme Court on Thursday said consumer dispute redressal commissions cannot serve as rehabilitation centres for retired judges and bureaucrats. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant flagged poor disposal rates across the three-tier system, noting that over 5.7 lakh cases are pending, 4 lakh in district forums and 1.2 lakh in state forums. In a case taken up on its own five years ago over pay and allowances of forum members, the court referred to a news report of consumers denied a hearing for four years. The court has asked the NCDRC president to submit a report within two weeks on pendency, vacancies, disposal rates and the need for additional benches.
The Indian Opinion
The Supreme Court’s blunt observation cuts through a lazy habit of treating consumer forums as sinecures for retired officials. The real injury is to the lakhs of consumers who wait years for relief. Narratives that blame only vacancies miss the point: even filled benches often dawdle. The test now is the NCDRC report due in two weeks. Will it show a credible plan to clear the backlog, or more excuses?
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
